reading material to get excited about
From the monthly archives:
A sampling of some of the bizarro search terms with (thankfully) low numbers that brought people to BOOKGASM over the last 30ish days:
• why do people have to go to the bathroom
• what exactly do playboy bunnies have to do
• milfmagic
• cheech, is he canadian
• whore price moscow
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In its native Japan, the manga DEATH NOTE is a phenomenon, having reportedly sold some 24 million copies and spawned an anime series and live-action films, with a U.S. remake in the works. Wanting to see what the fuss was all about, I intended to read just a few pages of DEATH NOTE: VOL. 1 in the tub. But an hour later, I was still soaking, so hooked in the story that I wasn’t leaving until the last page was reached.
That’s the power of a brilliant concept: A smart high school senior named Light finds a black notebook accidentally left behind by a demon. When one writes a person’s name in it, that person dies. You can even specify the exact time and means of their demise.
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If you’re looking to gift a graphic novel this season, may I suggest any of the volumes in the FLIGHT line? The anthology series focuses on the whimsical and otherworldly, but grounded just enough not to be outrageous and over-the-top. A sense of childlike wonder and innocence permeates all the volumes, even if no true discernible theme arises.
Project creator Kazu Kibuishi bookends FLIGHT: VOLUME ONE with “Air and Water” and “Cooper,” two imaginative adventures featuring a boy, his talking dog and their experiences in flight. The first story is funny, while the second is more fanciful (and wordless).
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Because time isn’t always kind: economic reviews in a world full of waste!
Perhaps my love for THE GEOGRAPHER’S LIBRARY — my favorite novel of 2005 — tainted my expectations for Jon Fasman’s follow-up THE UNPOSSESSED CITY, a literary thriller in which a down-on-his-luck Jim takes a gig in Russia interviewing political prisoners to pay off some gambling debts, much to the chagrin of his fishmonger folks. The trip seems worth it when he falls for the beautiful, Finnish wannabe actress Kaisa, but then the Soviets don’t take kindly to his job, and abduction becomes the name of the game. Fasman is a terrific writer whose lines really sing, but the plot never pushed me to keep going, like I just had to read one more chapter before flicking off the bedside light. It’s the alternating chapters focusing solely on the Russians that did me in, whereas the ones with Jim drew me in. It’s not a sophomore slump, but it’s not out of the stadium, either.
Heard the one about Coca-Cola translating to “bite the wax tadpole” in China? Yeah, not exactly. Amateur logophile David Wilton shoots down many popularly held beliefs involving words and phrases in WORD MYTHS: DEBUNKING LINGUISTIC URBAN LEGENDS. For example: “Crap” does not come from Thomas Crapper, who’s wrongly credited as the inventor of the toilet. “In like Flynn”? Nothing to do with Errol. Nearly every cliché you can think of — “chew the fat,” “throw the baby out with the bathwater” — is discussed, with Wilton dishing about their true origins, with informed research and clear explanations. The illustrations by alt-cartoonist Ivan Brunetti are icing on the cake. (For more current word porn, see Elizabeth Little’s new, fun BITING THE WAX TADPOLE: CONFESSIONS OF A LANGUAGE FANATIC, which goes one further by delving into numerals.)
It’s every parents’ worst nightmare: the disappearance of your child. In Michael Jasper’s fantasy A GATHERING OF DOORWAYS, the situation is more complicated than usual, because 5-year-old Noah has entered into “the Undercity,” a cavernous, underground world whose tunnels he navigates with the aid of a jaguar. Guilt-stricken dad Gil goes on the hunt for him, helping advance the adventure, but the scenes with Noah’s mother threaten to reverse that forward motion, or at least bring it to a halt. Descriptions of the forest ground suddenly opening up into a hole to swallow people are nightmarish, leading characters (and the reader) to princes, dragons and other strangers. The underwhelming novel’s just shy of satisfying, despite an ending that is poignant and real. A better tale of this type lies in John Connolly’s THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS.
I’ve never heard of the “hit Cartoon Network show” BAKUGAN, but my 11-year-old informs me it’s “stupid.” Whatevs. The animated series is now a graphic novel in the alliterative BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS: THE BATTLE BEGINS. It’s short and roughly digest-sized, comprised of stills directly from an episode, which is an approach I always find to be lazy. Then again, this one isn’t directed toward middle-aged men. Its target is little kids — ones not old enough to remember POKÉMON, but they’re apt to get into it, because this is exactly like POKÉMON, in that people fight one another via supernatural creatures with silly names that emerge from tossed balls and cards. —Rod Lott
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Black Friday deals have already started at Amazon, including hourly Gold Box deals and products on sale for only a limited time only! Save yourself the hassle of fighting crowds and shop online.
Also, don’t forget Amazon Customers Vote, where you cast your ballot for the deals you’d like to buy at amazing discounts, with a new round each day. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!
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